Kavarian Battlecruiser
Kavarian Battlecruisers are 1,200m wide warships that deal damage using a pair of large array type weapons that take up most of their forward profile. More modern ships of this type have their weapons configured to act as a pair of large pulse weapons. They are known to be fast for their size. House Kryptah Battlecruiser / Kryptah class Battlecruiser Length: 1,200m x ?00m Weapons: *2x forward Phase cannon array /or Heavy Pulse cannon array *2x aft phase cannon array *2x Torpedo launcher (1 forward, 1 aft) History Designed as part of a joint program between House Kharbos and House Kryptah, what became more commonly known as the Kavarian Battlecruiser was an attempt to make use of captured design teams following the conquest of the (First) Kavarian Imperium. Most existing Kavarian designs at the time were being broken down for scrap to construct the newer and most up to date Dominion ships. There were too many old systems that could be turned against the Dominion crews had they been pressed into service and in many cases much of the Kavarian military was already out of date. The new Battlecruisers were intended to be operated by Kavarian crews with oversight by Dominion Marines and a small number of officers. Design teams were unhappy with the prospect of designing new ships for their occupiers but produced a ship that was adequate. While fast with good armor and shields, the new ships weapons compliment was considered underwhelming. Despite this defficiency the Ruling House at the time ordered them into production. More weapons on a ship crewed by Kavarians would have been seen as too great a risk given the chances for rebellion. Kavarian Battlecruisers first saw use as long range patrol ships, often supporting Dominion deep space exploration or expeditionary fleets. In this capacity they saw regular combat against the Terrans and less commonly against the Rovinar. A number of weapon modifications including expanded arrays for their phase cannon allowed them to remain a genuine threat to nearly any mass produced ships of the period. Wile their weapon systems were not as powerful or numerous as those on the Battlecruisers of other Factions, they were more advanced. Taking advantage of the Kavarian's much longer history of phase weapon research, the Dominion soon began to employ frequency shifting phase cannons. This sparked an arms race that continued for almost two centuries. The newer Battlecruisers were often used as test beds for this technology. Kavarian Battlecruiser After the Kavarian uprising at the start of the Faction Wars, and establishment of the Kavarian Union, work began on upgrading existing designs to allow them to compete with more modern ships. The previous Khryptah Battlecruiser was chief among them, forming the mainstay of the Union's new war fleets. Many of the design changes simplified the ship for ease of mass production and reduced costs. While they could still carry Marines their barracks were no longer set up with combatting large scale mutiny by the crew in mind. Also added were upgrades to the sublight drives improving their performance to match those of the other Factions. Iratar assisted in development of programs to upgrade and modify existing hulls. After their split from the Kavarian Union the files and test data acquired from these programs were used in the development of their own designs in the Second Imperium. Post Faction Wars the new Iratar led Government had numerous restrictions placed upon them in terms of numbers of ships and types they were permitted to construct. As a result variations of the older style Kavarian battlecruisers remained in production over the newer models designed by the Union. Many of the more advanced technologies like pulse weaponry would eventually makes its way into the design but not for some time. Kavarian (Union) Battlecruiser Looking to further upgrade the capability of their Battlecruiser designs the Union wished to push beyond the limitations of upgrading existing hulls. While designers were encouraged to borrow as many elements as possible from the ships built under the Dominion they could otherwise do as they saw fit. Ultimately the design teams stuck with a similar visual theme, and while it looked as though they had changed little, internally there were now greater options for future weapon upgrades. In terms of appearance the wings were shifted forward slightly and the outer engine pods enlarged to add more power and better protection. The new Kavarian Battlecruiser had it's forward phase cannon arrays upgraded and modified so that each could be fired in a single powerful pulse. While this reduced their range and shield penetration it greatly increased the overall damage output. Seemingly overnight the fledgeling Union military had access to the most powerful close combat battlecruiser the Factions had ever seen. When used in combination with the longer ranged weapons of their new Super Heavy Cruisers and torpedo equipped attack cruisers the Union seemed to have developed a potent new combined arms doctrine. The newer Battlecruisers were often used as test beds for this (???) technology. (section mispaced?) The Warlord Razor Battlecruiser with it's forward pulse cannon arrays are considered by many to be a direct descendant of this class of ships. See Also: Union BC Heavy Armor Type See Also: Razor Battlecruiser Kavarian Battlecruiser (Modernized) While the older model first designed by the Dominion and then updraded by the Kavarian Union still saw some production by Iratar into the modern Era, its need for longer ranged support has often been criticized. There have been a number of attempts to upgrade the class with Heavy Phase cannon arrays, either in a configuration similar to the classic design, or with turrets above and below the wing. Related Designs Union BC Heavy Armor Type - What was effectively a fast Battleship developed by the Kavarian Union. Razor Battlecruiser - South Reach design descended from Union Battlecruisers. Intended for close combat with pulse cannons. South Reach Fast Battleship - South Reach design descended from Kavarian Battlecruiser. Substantial increase in weapons, armor and engine power. Sunleaf Class Battleship - Battleship developed by Iratar intended to be compatible with existing designs. Substantial increase in weapons and armor. Behind the Scenes The Kavarian Battlecruiser was the first original ship design created for what became the House and Dominion setting. As a child stuck doing an arts and crafts project in school back in the early 1990's I found it much more fun to use the three different shapes of wood we'd provided with to build toy space ships. Despite getting yelled at I was able to smuggle enough parts out of the class to build three ships. The first broke within a day and couldn't be rebuilt after the individual pieces snapped. Two others were glued together more sturdily and survive to this day, though the third had to be put back together several times in the late 90's. RE: 2012/2016 Retcon With the rather derpy AutoCAD design attempt made back in 2012 I have retconed it into being a version being built by the Kavarian Union, and tweaked the design slightly so it doesn't look quite as bad. ThatSlowTypingGuy (talk) 04:49, September 10, 2016 (UTC) Category:Starships Category:Battlecruisers Category:Kavarian